Inversion exerciser

ABSTRACT

An inversion exerciser includes: a beam having a pivot part formed with retaining grooves angularly displaced along an arcuate track; a foot retaining part pivoted to the pivot part relative to the beam about a first axis; a swingable part having first and second end portions and pivoted to the foot retaining part about a second axis parallel to the first axis; a locking pin extending transversely and secured to the first end portion of the swingable part as to be co-rotatable with the swingable part to engage and disengage a selected retaining groove; an urging member for biasing the swingable part to retain the first locking pin in the selected retaining groove; and a releasing member mounted movably on the foot retaining part and connected to the second end portion of the swingable part.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an inversion exerciser, more particularly to an inversion exerciser including a foot retaining part pivoted to a beam and adjustable at an angle relative to the beam.

2. Description of the Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 7,081,073 discloses an inversion exerciser that includes: a beam provided with a pair of pivot boards; a curved rack secured to the pivot boards and provided with retaining teeth; a foot retaining part pivoted to the pivot boards; a block secured to a chamber in the foot retaining part, defining a passage and provided with a pawl; a rod slidably received in the passage and having one end pivoted to the pawl so as to rotate the pawl to disengage the retaining teeth of the rack; a spring for biasing the rod to rotate the pawl and to disengage the pawl from the retaining teeth of the rack; an elbow pivoted to the beam and having one end pivoted to the other end of the rod; and an operating post mounted slidably in the chamber in the foot retaining part and connected to the other end of the elbow for rotating the elbow against the spring in order to force the pawl to engage the retaining teeth of the rack. The inversion exerciser thus formed allows the root retaining part to be adjustable at an angle relative to the beam. However, the aforesaid conventional inversion exerciser is disadvantageous in that the structure of the parts required to permit engagement and disengagement between the retaining teeth and the pawl is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an inversion exerciser that can overcome the aforesaid drawback associated with the prior art.

Accordingly, an inversion exerciser of the present invention comprises: a beam having a pivot part that is formed with a plurality of retaining grooves which are angularly displaced along an arcuate track; a foot retaining part pivoted to the pivot part so as to be rotatable relative to the beam about a first axis; a swingable part having first and second end portions and a middle portion extending between the first and second end portions and pivoted to the foot retaining part so as to permit rotation of the swingable part relative to the foot retaining part about a second axis parallel to the first axis and so as to permit co-rotation of the swingable part and the foot retaining part about the first axis; a locking pin extending transversely relative to the swingable part and secured to the first end portion of the swingable part so as to be co-rotatable with the swingable part to thereby engage and disengage a selected one of the retaining grooves; an urging member for biasing the swingable part to rotate in a first rotation direction to retain the locking pin in the selected one of the retaining grooves; and a releasing member mounted movably on the foot retaining part and connected to the second end portion of the swingable part for rotating the swingable part in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction so as to disengage the locking pin from the selected one of the retaining grooves.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of an inversion exerciser according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary partly sectional view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating a state where a first locking pin is urged to be retained in a retaining groove;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary partly sectional view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating another state where the first locking pin is disengaged from the retaining groove; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary partly sectional view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating yet another state where the entire exerciser is inverted and where a second locking pin engages a retaining groove.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the preferred embodiment of an inversion exerciser according to the present invention is shown to include: a beam 2 having a pivot part 22 that is formed with a plurality of retaining grooves 231 which are angularly displaced along an arcuate track 23; a foot retaining part 3 pivoted to the pivot part 22 so as to be rotatable relative to the beam 2 about a first axis (A) ; a swingable part 41 having first and second end portions 411, 412 and a middle portion 413 extending between the first and second end portions 411, 412 and pivoted to the foot retaining part 3 so as to permit rotation of the swingable part 41 relative to the foot retaining part 3 about a second axis (B) parallel to the first axis (A) and so as to permit co-rotation of the swingable part 41 and the foot retaining part 3 about the first axis (A) ; a first locking pin 42 extending transversely relative to the swingable part 41 and secured to the first end portion 411 of the swingable part 41 so as to be co-rotatable with the swingable part 41 to thereby engage and disengage a selected one of the retaining grooves 231; a first urging member 43 for biasing the swingable part 41 to rotate in a first rotation direction to retain the first locking pin 42 in the selected one of the retaining grooves 231; and a releasing member 5 mounted movably on the foot retaining part 3 and connected to the second end portion 412 of the swingable part 41 for rotating the swingable part 41 in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction so as to disengage the first locking pin 42 from the selected one of the retaining grooves 231.

In this embodiment, the first urging member 43 interconnects the first end portion 411 of the swingable part 41 and the foot retaining part 3. The releasing member 5 is movable relative to the foot retaining part 3 along a straight path, and is operable to move in a first direction along the straight path to rotate the swingable part 41 about the second axis (B) in the second rotation direction. The inversion exerciser further includes a second urging member 52 for biasing the releasing member 5 to move in a second direction opposite to the first direction so as to rotate the swingable part 41 about the second axis in the first rotation direction.

The inversion exerciser of this invention further includes a safety lock 6 including a swingable plate 61 that has a heavy end portion 611, a light end portion 612 opposite to the heavy end portion 611, and a middle portion 613 extending between the heavy and light end portions 611, 612 and pivoted to the swingable part 41 so as to permit rotation of the swingable plate 61 relative to the swingable part 41 about a third axis (C) parallel to the first and second axes (A, B) . The safety lock 6 further includes a second locking pin 62 that is secured to the light end portion 612 of the swingable plate 61 and that extends transversely relative to the swingable plate 61 for engaging an adjacent one of the retaining grooves 231 when the inversion exerciser is inverted. The heavy end portion 611 has a weight greater than that of the light end portion 612 so as to permit rotation of the swingable plate 61 about the third axis (C) by gravity.

The releasing member 5 includes a rod 51 that extends into a post 31 of the foot retaining part 3 along the straight path, that has an enlarged end portion 511 connected to the second end portion 412 of the swingable part 41, and that is urged by the second urging member 52. The rod 51 is formed with a pushing protrusion 512 that is disposed above the second end portion 412 of the swingable part 41 for driving the swingable part 41 to rotate about the second axis (B) in the second rotation direction when the rod 51 is moved in the first direction along the straight path. A knob 53 is connected to an opposite end of the rod 51 for driving movement of the rod 51.

When the inversion exerciser is not in a state of use, the swingable part 41 is urged by the first and second urging members 43, 52 to rotate in the first rotation direction so as to retain the first locking pin 42 in the selected one of the retaining grooves 231, as best illustrated in FIG. 3.

No matter what the position the inversion exercise is to be disposed, i.e., whether an upright or an inverted position, the heavy end portion 611 of the swingable plate 61 always rotates to a level lower than that of light end portion 612 by virtue of gravity. As such, when the inversion exerciser is disposed at the upright position, the second-locking pin 62 is disengaged from the adjacent one of the retaining grooves 231, thereby permitting angular adjustment of the foot retaining part 3 relative to the beam 2 when the first locking pin 42 is disengaged from the selected one of the retaining grooves 231. On the other hand, when the inversion exerciser is disposed at the inverted position (see FIG. 5), the second locking pin 62 will engage the adjacent one of the retaining grooves 231, thereby preventing rotation of the foot retaining part 3 about the first axis (A) even when the first locking pin 42 is accidentally disengaged from the selected one of the retaining grooves 231.

When the angle of the foot retaining part 3 relative to the beam 2 is to be adjusted prior to use of the inversion exerciser, the inversion exerciser is disposed at the upright position and the knob 53 is pushed downwardly (see FIG. 4) against the urging force of the second urging member 52 in order to push the second end portion 412 of the swingable part 41 via the pushing protrusion 512 of the rod 51 and to rotate the swingable part 41 about the second axis (B) in the second rotation direction, thereby disengaging the first locking pin 42 from the selected one of the retaining grooves 231 and permitting rotation of the foot retaining part 3 about the first axis (A). After the angle of the foot retaining part 3 has been adjusted, the user can step onto a pair of foot pedals (not shown) on the foot retaining part 3 and the inversion exerciser can then be inverted to conduct inversion exercise. The second locking pin 62 engages the adjacent one of the retaining grooves 231 immediately after the inversion exerciser is inverted, thereby preventing disengagement from the beam 2 during the inversion exercise.

By pivoting the swingable part 41 to the foot retaining part 3 and securing the first locking pin 42 to one end of the swingable part 41, the structure of the inversion exerciser of this invention is made simpler than that of the aforesaid conventional inversion exerciser.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

1. An inversion exerciser comprising: a beam having a pivot part that is formed with a plurality of retaining grooves which are angularly displaced along an arcuate track; a foot retaining part pivoted to said pivot part so as to be rotatable relative to said beam about a first axis; a swingable part having first and second end portions and a middle portion extending between said first and second end portions and pivoted to said foot retaining part so as to permit rotation of said swingable part relative to said foot retaining part about a second axis parallel to said first axis and so as to permit co-rotation of said swingable part and said foot retaining part about said first axis; a first locking pin extending transversely relative to said swingable part and secured to said first end portion of said swingable part so as to be co-rotatable with said swingable part to thereby engage and disengage a selected one of said retaining grooves; a first urging member for biasing said swingable part to rotate in a first rotation direction to retain said first locking pin in the selected one of said retaining grooves; and a releasing member mounted movably on said foot retaining part and connected to said second end portion of said swingable part for rotating said swingable part in a second rotation direction opposite to said first rotation direction so as to disengage said first locking pin from the selected one of said retaining grooves.
 2. The inversion exerciser as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first urging member interconnects said first end portion of said swingable part and said foot retaining part.
 3. The inversion exerciser as claimed in claim 1, wherein said releasing member is movable relative to said foot retaining part along a straight path, and is operable to move in a first direction along said straight path to rotate said swingable part about said second axis in said second rotation direction, said inversion exerciser further comprising a second urging member for biasing said releasing member to move in a second direction opposite to said first direction so as to rotate said swingable part about said second axis in said first rotation direction.
 4. The inversion exerciser as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a safety lock including a swingable plate that has a heavy end portion, a light end portion opposite to said heavy end portion, and a middle portion extending between said heavy and light end portions and pivoted to said swingable part so as to permit rotation of said swingable plate relative to said swingable part about a third axis parallel to said first and second axes, said safety lock further including a second locking pin that is secured to said light end portion of said swingable plate and extending transversely relative to said swingable plate, said heavy end portion having a weight greater than that of said light end portion so as to permit rotation of said swingable plate about said third axis by gravity. 